Destination: New York City Rick Arsenault turns to the Net to raise funds for surgery

Thursday

Oct 31, 2013 at 3:15 AM

By Shawn P. SullivanSanford News Editor

SANFORD — In November, Rick Arsenault will make his fifth trip to New York City this year.

He’s not going there for the fine dining or the Broadway productions or Christmas shopping. He’s going in order to undergo crucial surgery to fight back against the arterial-venous malformation, or AVM, that’s spreading on the right side of his face — and he’s hoping for some help paying for the expensive procedures.

Earlier this month, Arsenault established an online Indiegogo account, which is essentially a 45-day fundraiser to go toward the $8,000 he needs for the surgery. A previous campaign, held this summer, brought in a little more than $1,200, Arsenault said, and $1,000 from one generous individual has also proven helpful. Arsenault said he got the idea to go the Indiegogo route from a friend of more than 20 years who understood his health needs and financial challenges.

At the moment, there has not been any contributions to the account — which is why Arsenault is trying to get the word out.

“It’s a two-edged sword,” he said. “To make it work, you have to promote it.”

The community has rallied around Arsenault before. Several years ago, he decided to undergo specialized surgery after his AVM grew extremely aggressive and overtook the right side of his face and he developed infections and bled internally. Sanford News Reporter Ellen Todd wrote a feature story about him that inspired many people to contribute to his cause. His football buddies from his Sanford High years — he graduated in 1976 — and fellow members at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints pitched in with donations. So too did members of Curtis Lake Church. A thoughtful woman he did not even know, Nancy Gendreau, of Sanford, also held a successful fundraiser for him.

“It’s just incredible,” Arsenault said of the outpouring. “That’s the only word.”

Arsenault moved to Sanford when he was in the third grade. He and his wife, Paula, have a son, Jacob, who’s a senior at Sanford High School.

Arsenault started reporting to Dr. Milton Waner and his team at the Birthmark Institute of New York for surgery in 2008. Waner will remove as much of Arsenault’s AVM as possible when Arsenault undergoes surgery again during the week of Thanksgiving.

“This is the only doctor in the world who does this, as far as I know,” Arsenault said. “It’s amazing, what he has done. He’s definitely a pioneer in this industry.”

Arsenault has had his AVM all his life. He was born with a birthmark on the right side of his face. When he was a child, he fell off his bicycle and got a fat lip. The lip never went back down. His father took him to see a doctor, who told him there was nothing that could be done to help him.

In junior high, a growth developed inside his mouth as a result of his AVM; it was surgically removed without any complications.

The AVM continued to present Arsenault with challenges throughout his life. On his Indiegogo page, he offers a few examples.

“After graduating from high school, I tried to enlist in the U.S. Air Force to become a pilot, but the doctor would not even give me a physical due to my birthmark,” Arsenault said. “My brother, Mike, had enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and talked with his recruiter about my situation. It took us seven months of battling for me to receive permission to enlist, and finally I was off for boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.”

After Infantry Training School at Camp Pendleton in California, he was told he could choose any available duty station in the world that he desired because he had graduated at the top of my class.

“I discussed with the interviewing officer that I wanted to go to Annapolis, Maryland, to become an officer and eventually a pilot,” Arsenault said. “I was told that due to the aesthetics of my birthmark, there was a Navy regulation that would not allow me to become an officer. However, I could choose to go to San Diego for corrective surgery and, if successful, I could pursue becoming a pilot.”

Arsenault then was diagnosed with a hemangioma. After several consultations, he had surgery in late 1977.

“It did not go well,” Arsenault said. “I recall a temperature of 106.7 that finally abated after my being placed in a tub of ice water for over 24 hours. Nearly a month later, I was sent home for 30 days of convalescent leave to recuperate. When I returned to Camp Pendleton, the doctors told me that there was nothing more that they could do.”

In the years that followed, he developed a staph infection in his birthmark and eventually started experiencing arterial bleeding in his face. There did not seem to be any doctors with the right experience and confidence to help him. These conditions started affecting Arsenault’s life to an even greater degree — he had attended college while in the military and started taking more courses later in life but had to drop out of them because his spontaneous-bleeding episodes caused him to miss to many classes. In time, he found a career in the construction industry and eventually started his own business; however, a few years ago, as he started up with surgeries again, he needed to close his business and has faced financial struggles ever since.

There is no cure for AVM; it always advances and can only be controlled through the kind of surgery Arsenault is seeking.

Anyone who wishes to contribute to Arsenault’s efforts to save money for surgery can do so online by visiting http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/arsenault-avm-surgeries/x/3680821. Donors also may make contributions at York County Federal Credit Union; please make out your check to the Arsenault AVM Surgery Fund and bring it to the attention of Renee Oyster.

In addition to funds, there’s something else that Arsenault is hoping the community can contribute.

“Prayers are helpful and much appreciated,” Arsenault said. “When you get the Lord on your side, you get things going well.”